A portable media device (“PMD”) stores media assets, such as audio tracks, video tracks or photos that can be played or displayed on the portable media device. One example of a portable media device may be the iPod™ portable media device, currently available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Often, a portable media device acquires its media assets from a host computer that serves to enable a user to manage media assets. As an example, the host computer can execute a media management application to manage media assets.
One example of a media management application may be iTunes®, produced by Apple Inc. Once a user has interfaced with the media management application, the portable media device may provide additional applications which may provide further media management capabilities, allowing the user to navigate, arrange, or playback particular media assets. These further media management capabilities may use the display of the portable media device to interface with the user.
Due to the ease with which audio tracks and video tracks may be downloaded from online sources, stored, and played back on portable media devices such as the iPod™, large numbers of stored tracks can be available on a PMD. Large numbers of tracks of differing types, whose residency on a PMD may be transitory, create a substantial navigation and management challenge for the user and PMD manufacturer alike. In terms of being able to concisely present an efficient and user friendly interface, it would be highly beneficial to present the user with a graphical interface with a screen presence exemplifying and delineating stored track information in such a way that the user may be able to quickly glean information about content stored on the PMD.